'Net Features : google drivehttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/tags/google+drive/default.aspxTags: google driveenCommunityServer 2008 SP2 (Build: 31104.93)6 Awesome Google Tools for Small Businesseshttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/07/25/6-awesome-google-tools-for-small-businesses.aspxFri, 25 Jul 2014 17:30:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:35546Administrator15http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=35546http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/07/25/6-awesome-google-tools-for-small-businesses.aspx#comments<p>:: Jessica Davis, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.godotmedia.com/">Godot Media</a> ::
</p>
<hr />
<p>For most individuals, Google is the most trustworthy search engine out there and most of us turn to Google for any requirement that we may have online. However, most people forget that the largest search engine provider is also a great believer in small businesses.</p>
<p>Google wants to be able to help small businesses as much as possible and the company has launched a lot of products and tools to help any kind of business get off the ground and thrive. Google is much more than just a search engine and if you look hard enough, you will find a treasure chest of tools to help your small business grow. Here are six of the best tools that Google offers small businesses.</p>
<h3>1. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/trends/">Google Trends</a></h3>
<p>For any business to survive and thrive, it needs to be able to change with the times. In fact, as a small business owner, you need to understand current and upcoming trends to ensure that you are ahead of your competitors. Google Trends is just the tool for you to understand trending search terms. Most small businesses rely heavily on online marketing to attract new customers.</p>
<p>Google Trends will help you find the right keywords and trending search terms that you must include in your online marketing copies to reach out to a wide audience and to ensure that your copy has the maximum impact. Google Trends even provides additional details on trending search terms for accurate analysis.</p>
<p><img height="306" width="550" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/trending-now.png" style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" alt="" /></p>
<h3>2. G<a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/analytics/">oogle Analytics</a></h3>
<p>Google Analytics is probably the most important for any business that has an online presence. This statistics tool will help you understand how well your website is doing. With Google Analytics, you can understand how many people are visiting your website, where most of the traffic is coming from, the demographics of the audience that your website is attracting and even the times at which your website is getting most of its traffic. This tool gives an in depth information about your Web traffic, which is essential for you, to understand your customer base and to figure out how to improve your website and online marketing methods.</p>
<h3>3. <a target="_blank" href="https://drive.google.com">Google Drive</a></h3>
<p>Google Drive is Google&rsquo;s answer to Dropbox and in some cases it is even better than the latter. The tool is a cloud storage system that allows you to store up to 10GB of data. Small businesses don&rsquo;t have the luxury to have servers and databases to store business data and Google Drive is very easy to use. Any small business owner can easily learn how to use this tool to store, organize and retrieve presentation, spreadsheets, documents, videos and images. The best part of the tool is that it integrates very well with third-party tools so you can customize your Google Drive to make it more efficient for your business.</p>
<p><img height="111" width="450" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/google-drive-screenshot.png" style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" alt="" /></p>
<h3>4. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/merchants">Google Merchant Center</a></h3>
<p>Imagine the kind of success you would get and the amount of goods you would be able to sell if you could have product ads for relevant searches conducted on Google. Now you can do that with Google Merchant Center. This tool lets you manage your online inventory of products so that your products can show up with Google properties. When you link your Google Merchants with your Google AdWords accounts you will see your products appearing as product ads on Google Shopping and Google &nbsp;search results pages. These ads will even feature information about the products such as prices, a small description and images.</p>
<h3>5. <a target="_blank" href="https://plus.google.com">Google+</a></h3>
<p>Google+ may not yet be a serious competitor to other social media websites like Facebook but Google+ is the preferred site for those looking to network. Most importantly, as a Google product, you can bet that it integrates well with all other Google products. To reach out to more customers, to improve search engine rankings and to build a network for your business, you need to make sure that your business has a page or account with Google+. Google Search takes Google+ into account and ensures that Google+ results show up prominently for the right searches.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>6. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/controlpanel/blogs/posteditor.aspx/mail.google.com">Gmail</a></h3>
<p>This is the preferred email client provider for most people in the world. But it is also an excellent tool for businesses. Small businesses may often not have registered domain names and dedicated email providers. Gmail is an excellent alternative allowing you to provide your employees with email accounts that they can use very easily.&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>Jessica Davis is a Content Strategist at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.godotmedia.com/">Godot Media</a>, a leading content services company. She has extensive experience in creating engaging content for businesses and individuals. Other fields of interest are social media, technology and fashion.</p>
<h4><img height="20" width="20" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/subarrow.png" style="float:left;" alt="" />&nbsp;<a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/subscribe/default.aspx?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_campaign=WMcontent">SUBSCRIBE FREE to Website Magazine - 12 Issues&nbsp;</a></h4><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=35546" width="1" height="1">googlegoogle analyticsgoogle trendswmfeaturewm-softwaregoogle driveJessica DavisGodot MediaGoogle Merchant CenterWeekend Warrior: 6 Digital Spring Cleaning Strategieshttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/03/14/weekend-warrior-6-digital-spring-cleaning-strategies.aspxFri, 14 Mar 2014 19:45:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:32093Allison Howen3http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=32093http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/03/14/weekend-warrior-6-digital-spring-cleaning-strategies.aspx#comments<hr />
<p><strong>The days are starting to get longer and most of the U.S. is beginning to thaw out from a very rough winter, which can only mean one thing &ndash; spring is (finally) on its way!</strong></p>
<p>It is the perfect time of year for Web professionals to undertake one or more &ldquo;spring cleaning&rdquo; projects. Although spring is not officially in bloom yet (the Spring Equinox is March 20), digital professionals can get a head start on their virtual cleanup with these six digital spring cleaning strategies for weekend warriors.</p>
<hr />
<h4><img style="float:left;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/subarrow.png" width="20" height="20" alt="" />&nbsp;<a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/subscribe/default.aspx?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_campaign=WMcontent">SUBSCRIBE FREE to Website Magazine - 12 Issues&nbsp;</a></h4>
<hr />
<h2>1. Refresh Social</h2>
<p>Most brands use social media on a daily basis, but even though their status updates are constantly changing, the rest of their presence tends to stay the same. It is a good idea to take some time to update your social profiles. First and foremost, take a look at your profile information to make sure information like category, description, address and website are correct. In doing so, your social pages may be easier to find in the search results (discussed more below) and, at the very least, your prospective customers will have accurate details about your business.</p>
<p>In addition to updating your brand&rsquo;s profile information, it may also be time to rejuvenate design aspects like avatars and cover photos. For assistance with the design process, check out a browser-based tool like <a href="http://www.picmonkey.com/?utm_expid=54526581-7.ap9kRKb4Rd6rJpOKjclwSQ.0" target="_blank">PicMonkey</a> or Photoshop plugin <a href="http://socialkit.madebysource.com/" target="_blank">Social Kit</a>, which provides users with customizable templates for creating cover images, profile pictures and ad banners for social networks like Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube.</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/picmonkeyedit.png" width="630" height="200" alt="" /></p>
<hr />
<h2>2. Organize Your Inbox</h2>
<p>Improve your overall productivity by organizing both your professional and personal inboxes. Start by deleting the spam and creating folders that will take the hassle out of finding important messages. Coincidentally, Google has also <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/save-more-with-google-drive.html" target="_blank">slashed its prices</a> for storage on Google Drive, so there is no better time to start filing away documents into the cloud.</p>
<hr />
<h2>3. Clean Up Business Listings</h2>
<p>Many consumers leverage their mobile devices to <a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/03/14/the-state-of-mobile-in-the-u-s-infographic.aspx" target="_blank">conduct searches while on the go</a>. To capitalize on this trend, it is vital for brands with brick-and-mortar locations to show up in the search results, both in the search engines and in local discovery platforms.</p>
<p>This spring, revisit and update listings on popular location-based platforms like Yelp, Foursquare and Google Places. In addition to updating information like address and telephone number, try adding descriptive business descriptions and photos to listings when possible. Moreover, you can leverage a tool like <a href="http://www.yext.com/small-business/overview" target="_blank">Yext</a> or GoDaddy&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/products/business-marketing.aspx" target="_blank">GetFound</a>&nbsp;to save some time, as these platforms update all listings (which could be upward of 200-plus) from a single interface.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/yextlistings.png" width="531" height="350" alt="" /></p>
<hr />
<h2>4. Sweep Up the Subscriber List</h2>
<p>Web professionals are typically focused on growing their email lists, however, subscribers who frequently delete or ignore messages can actually damage a brand&rsquo;s sender reputation. To begin the cleaning process, sift through data and consider removing contacts whose emails have bounced back or haven&rsquo;t shown up in recent opening reports. That said, you can also implement a campaign to win back your unresponsive subscribers before removing them from your list altogether. This type of campaign can send incentives to the subscriber or simply ask the subscriber to take an action (such as click here to renew) if they would like to continue to receive emails from your brand.</p>
<hr />
<h2>5. Update Passwords</h2>
<p>No person or brand is immune to security hacks in today&rsquo;s digital world, which is why it is important to change passwords for things like social media, email and other admin accounts on a regular basis. Although some people change their passwords as frequently as every three months, the minimum should be every six months.</p>
<p>Consider leveraging two-step verification for your accounts where it is possible, like <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2013/getting-started-with-login-verification" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/landing/2step/" target="_blank">Google</a>. This feature provides an extra layer of security by requiring users to enter additional information, such as a verification code, before they can login. It is also important to note that any updated passwords should be recorded in a safe place and shared with anyone else (like colleagues) who may need access to the service where the password has been changed.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/twostepverifiy.png" width="497" height="203" alt="" /></p>
<hr />
<h2>6. Consolidate Forms</h2>
<p>Last but certainly not least, take the weekend to look over the forms on your website. Whether the form is required to download a whitepaper or sign up for an email list, make sure that it is not only easy to read, but that it only requires your site visitors to enter the necessary information. This is because forms that appear long or ask for too much personal data are often ignored and abandoned. Before revamping your forms, however, check out Website Magazine&rsquo;s article &ldquo;<a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/brainy-improving-online-forms-conversion-corner.aspx" target="_blank">Brainy Tips for Improving Online Forms</a>.&rdquo;</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="padding-left:180px;"> Happy Spring!</h2>
<h2 style="padding-left:180px;"></h2>
<div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=32093" width="1" height="1">godaddyyextwmfeaturegoogle driveweekend warriorsocial kitspring cleaningpicmonkeygetfoundGoogle Drive Gets Activehttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/01/15/google-drive-gets-active.aspxWed, 15 Jan 2014 17:00:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:30323Allison Howen0http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=30323http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2014/01/15/google-drive-gets-active.aspx#comments<hr />
<p><strong>It is now simple to track the changes teammates make to documents on Google Drive, because Google has <a href="http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-new-activity-stream-in-drive-shows.html" target="_blank">introduced</a> a new activity stream for the storage service.</strong></p>
<p>The feature enables users to view a rundown of activity for shared documents. In order to view the feature, users must click the &ldquo;i&rdquo; icon in the top right corner of Drive. The activity stream includes changes like editing and commenting, as well as actions like renaming files and sharing documents. It is also important to note that users can view activity for specific files by simply selecting those files. </p>
<p>The feature aims to make it easier for teams to work on group projects by allowing everyone to follow along with changes. According to Google, activity stream is rolling out to all users over the next week.</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/activitystream.png" width="630" height="400" alt="" /></p>
<div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=30323" width="1" height="1">googlegoogle drivecollaborateactivity streamThe Latest Google Drive API is All About Collaborationhttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/03/22/the-latest-google-drive-api-is-all-about-collaboration.aspxFri, 22 Mar 2013 21:00:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:24031Michael Garrity3http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=24031http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/03/22/the-latest-google-drive-api-is-all-about-collaboration.aspx#comments<hr />
<p><strong>Earlier this week, Google launched its <a href="https://developers.google.com/drive/realtime/" target="_blank">Google Drive Realtime API</a> to allow developers to utilize Google Drive&rsquo;s real-time collaboration features in their own applications.</strong><br /><br />According to Google, this API is meant to offer collaborative versions of popular data objects, like maps, strings, lists and JSON values, as well as automatically synchronizing and storing any modifications to these objects. Developers can even add their own custom objects and references. <br /><br />Plus, since the API will track the presence of collaborators, the developers can alert users when other people join and leave, as well as when they make changes to a document.<br /><br />As with Drive, the Realtime API will enact any local changes that take place when a user is in the developer&rsquo;s application, and these will be immediately reflected in the local document via the use of operational transformation. In other words, local apps will continue to be responsive, even if they&rsquo;re running on high-latency networks. <br /><br />In addition, Google has opened up the <a href="https://realtimeplayground.appspot.com/" target="_blank">Drive Realtime API Playground</a>, so that developers can go in and test out their applications. To use the Drive Realtime API and gain access to the Playground, users must first sign up for the original <a href="https://developers.google.com/drive/realtime/realtime-quickstart" target="_blank">Google Drive API</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=24031" width="1" height="1">Softwaregoogleapiwm-softwaregoogle drivereal-timegoogle drive realtime apiForget Docs - Zoho has Arrived on Google Drivehttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2012/07/23/forget-docs-zoho-has-arrived-on-google-drive.aspxMon, 23 Jul 2012 15:27:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:20257Michael Garrity1http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=20257http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2012/07/23/forget-docs-zoho-has-arrived-on-google-drive.aspx#comments<hr />
<p><strong>When Google Drive
was announced, it was clear that the company had every intention of keeping it
closely aligned with its Google Docs office suite. Fortunately for those of you
who aren&rsquo;t too keen on Docs, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zoho.com/">Zoho</a> is now offering an alternative.</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks to an integration using
Google Chrome extensions, Zoho is able to tap into Google&rsquo;s cloud storage
service to offer users its Writer, Sheet, and Show products with Google Drive
integration, making it available to all of Zoho&rsquo;s over 6 million customers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many users take umbrage with the fact
that Google forces them to use all of their products in order to access one, as
everything in the suite is so closely integrated. One can click on an
attachment in Gmail that will automatically open with Docs. Likewise, files
saved in the cloud will be automatically saved to Drive. All of this is useful
to a hardcore Google consumer, but for those who don&rsquo;t necessarily want to use
all of these services, it can be a major annoyance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The downside to this integration
is that Zoho users will have to access each package separately in the Chrome
Store. Here&rsquo;s <a target="_blank" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jgaeidloagadfcohacebhbkkapgpiddj">Zoho Writer</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jhegddohmncgelkehhnigphmloinkinj">Zoho Sheet</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fiicmodaknllfjlmeempmdcnoljgbpmi">Zoho Show</a>.</p>
<div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=20257" width="1" height="1">googlezohogoogle docsofficechromesuitewm-softwaregoogle drive